Football: Barthez to Miss Saturday's Match Against Caen

Olympique Marseille football captain Fabien Barthez is recovering in a French hospital after undergoing surgery.

The former Manchester United goalkeeper had an operation on Thursday. He will therefore not be able to play on Saturday in his team's first match with Philippe Troussier as coach against Caen.

Troussier did not say why Barthez needed surgery. But the French regional paper La Provence reported on Monday that his procedure was to remove a non-malignant skin tumor.

Troussier was unable to say how long the 33-year-old Barthez would be out of action. Barthez played the full 90 minutes of his club's 3-1 win against Nantes on Saturday. Backup Jeremy Gavanon is expected to start Saturday for Marseille, which is fifth in its division.